The Mystery of Resurrection by Pastor Sola Olowokere Apr 04, 2010. Watch photo album of the service
Synopsis
When I see how some despise the Lord or how nonchalant they seem to Him, I often wonder, how could anyone not love a Savior as this? How could you not love the One who had to die and be raised from death to stop mankind from being eternally punished for the transgression of Eve? How could you not love the One who washed you in His own blood? I’m unshaken in my conviction; He has done too much for me to stop loving or to love Him less!
The nonchalant Believer needs to understand that the resurrection mystery underlies or governs our elevation. It’s only because He rose from the dead and was elevated that you and I can also be elevated.
John 12:32 sheds light on this
“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”
The Journey for our elevation (salvation) started when man fell. Before man, everything God created was just good. But once He made man, He said that man was very good (Gen 1). Satan (Lucifer) could not stand this. He became mesmerized and couldn’t understand why God would make man who would undercut him. He puts up a plan to discredit man and prevent us from replacing him by deceiving Eve and making death become man’s reality (Gen 3).
It was easy for Satan to deceive the woman because death was foreign at this point. No one had ever died. I believe Satan knew he couldn’t deceive the man whom God had given first-hand information on the Forbidden Fruit that was why he decided to go to the woman. “But the man also ate the fruit,” I had someone say. Yes! But he wasn’t deceived. Adam willfully ate the apple due to covetousness!
1 Timothy 2: 13- 14 reveals
“For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”
Once man fell, there was a need to reinstate man to God’s original plan. But for this to happen, the price for our redemption had to be paid by the transgressor, according to the Law of transgression. But the transgressor (Eve) was dead. The burden then fell on the seed of the transgressor. Jesus qualified as a seed of the woman (transgressor) because He was conceived without a man’s seed (Matthew 1)
But Satan wouldn’t just fold his arms and watch Jesus bring man redemption after He came in flesh. He earnestly contended for Jesus’ life through King Herod (Matthew 2); temptation (Matthew 4) and other means. But all his efforts were to no avail. Thank God Jesus didn’t fail like Eve. If He had, the devil would have taken over completely. You and I would have been servants of the devil today! But thank God because the Lion of the Tribe of Judah prevailed!
To further establish that Jesus was indeed the seed of the woman who was qualified to pay for the price of redemption, He was fed vinegar instead of water right before He said “it is finished”. This is symbolic of that which brought the original sin: eating of the Forbidden Fruit. What brought man to transgression was what man ate. And it’s safe to conclude that the fruit was unsavory once eaten by Eve judging from what followed the eating (Genesis 3) just as vinegar was to Jesus’ taste bud.
But Jesus’s death was just the beginning as Colossians 2:13-15 shows:
“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”
At death, Jesus took the fight to the Enemy and his cohorts and triumphed over them. Are you not glad you have a Savior as this? The One who has paid the price for your redemption and granted you access to the commonwealth of the saints?
HAPPY EASTER!
